21st Century Fox
21st Century Fox is an American media conglomerate based in New York City. It is currently the third-largest media conglomerate in the United States, after the Walt Disney Company and Comcast. 21st Century Fox was established in 2013 as a successor to News Corporation. On December 14, 2017, the Walt Disney Company announced its intentions to acquire 21st Century Fox and most of that company's entertainment assets and intellectual properties. The deal is pending approval from the United States Department of Justice Antitrust Division. Merger with the Walt Disney Company In November 2017, 21st Century Fox reportedly offered its filmed entertainment assets up for sale, with Comcast, Verizon, Sony, and the Walt Disney Company engaged in a bidding war. By December, only Comcast and Disney remained in talks with Fox, with Comcast dropping their bid on December 11. On December 14, 2017, The Walt Disney Company announced that it was acquiring most of Fox's parent company, 21st Century Fox, including the film studio. If approved, included in the deal are divisions such as 20th Century Fox and FX Networks, intellectual properties such as The Simpsons, distribution rights to the Star Wars original and prequel trilogies, and film rights to Marvel Comics characters such as the X-Men and Fantastic Four. The acquisition would also give Disney a controlling stake in Hulu, of which it currently owns a 30% stake. Fox and Comcast each own a 30% stake in Hulu, with Time Warner owning 10%. This deal would also make Blue Sky Studios, a Fox-owned computer animation studio best known for the Ice Age and Rio franchise, a sister studio to both Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios, respectively. The deal does not include Fox Broadcasting Company or Fox News Channel, which will be spun off into a new company named "New FOX." On May 7, 2018, shares of Fox rose 5.1% when a report was released that Comcast was in talks with investment banks and firms in order to obtain bridge-financing for an all-cash bid, reportedly worth $60 billion, that threatened the Disney-Fox deal. On May 29, it was reported that Disney was looking into making its own all-cash counter-offer for Fox assets in the event that Comcast went through with their offer. The next day, Disney and Fox announced that they have set their shareholder vote meetings for July 10, though both companies have stated that Fox's meeting could be postponed if Comcast came through with their offer. On June 12, AT&T was given approval by District Judge Richard J. Leon to acquire Time Warner, easing concerns Comcast had regarding whether government regulators would block their bid for Fox. Consequently, the next day, Comcast mounted a bid of $65 billion for the 21st Century Fox assets that were set to be acquired by Disney. On June 14, Bloomberg News reported that the New York Yankees were seeking to invoke a clause in Fox's purchase of stakes in YES Network, allowing them to buy back Fox's stake in the event of a change in ownership (and thus prevent it from being included in the sale). On June 18, it was reported that Disney will add to its already existing $52 billion claim to contest Comcast's proposed counter-offer for the Fox assets. On June 19, it was reported that Disney has agreed to acquire Sky News from Sky itself. On June 20, Disney and Fox announced that they had amended their previous merger agreement, upping Disney’s offer to $71.3 billion (a 10% premium over Comcast's $65 billion offer), while also offering shareholders the option of receiving cash instead of stock. On June 21, Murdoch said in response to Disney's higher offer: "We are extremely proud of the businesses we have built at 21st Century Fox, and firmly believe that this combination with Disney will unlock even more value for shareholders as the new Disney continues to set the pace at a dynamic time for our industry." That still does not prevent other companies from making a bid, as the deal was needed to be voted on by shareholders. Iger explained the reasoning behind the bid: "Direct-to-consumer distribution has actually become an even more compelling proposition in the six months since we announced the deal. There has just been not only a tremendous amount of development in that space, but clearly the consumer is voting—loudly." On June 27, the United States Department of Justice gave antitrust approval to Disney under the condition of selling Fox's 22 regional sports channels, to which the company has agreed to. On June 28, Disney and Fox shareholders scheduled July 27, 2018 as the day to vote on Fox's properties being sold to Disney. References Category:Companies Category:Star Wars Category:Marvel Comics Category:Non-Disney Category:Chronicles of Narnia film series